JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Life hasn't always been so cheerful for 20-year-old Sean Furlong. His story begins in Louisville, Kentucky where his mother was diagnosed with leukemia.

"When I was 10, she passed away." he said. "It was sad."

That was 2002. His brother, Griffin, was 6. They took up baseball to cope. But their father and family fell on hard times. Bouncing from friends and family. Living in hotels and shelters. Homeless for a year and a half by summer 2007.

"I couldn't talk about it with my friends at school," Sean said. "They asked like where do you live? I'd just say 'Oh, I live downtown.'"

Sean says he endured hours long city bus rides to get to school.

"I got good grades. I got straight A's. I knew that if I was going to make a change, I would have to get good grades and go to school," he explained.